The Conversation

Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box,
William Garriott

Cannabis legalization is on the ballot again this November.

Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to allow adults 21 and up in their states to use cannabis recreationally.

Voters in Nebraska will decide whether to allow medical access under a doctor’s care.

Voters in Arkansas will see a question about medical access on their ballot, but the state supreme court ruled that the votes can’t be counted because the name and title of the measure were “misleading.”

The results of these ballot measures obviously matter to residents of each state, but they also will be telling for the future of the cannabis legalization movement. That’s because these states are all so-called red states where Republicans dominate state politics. They are part of the legalization movement’s biggest obstacle – what I call the “red wall.”